Fallen Nobles
by BellaPerea
Summary: AU. The daughters of the fearsome Emperor Hyuuga Hiashi have been kidnapped by rebels; not for ransom, but for reform. Little by little, the rebels find that the two girls are changing...but so are they. NaruHina, NejiSaku & others.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: FALLEN NOBLES!!! (late update excuses below)**

"Are they awake?"

"No."

"How much of a dose did you give them? I told you only fifteen milligrams!"

"Ops, ehm…you got them clothes right?"

"Yeah, just hope that our spare clothes fit. Wait, don't change the subject!"

"Dobe."

Hinata heard voices as she stirred awake. She opened her pale eyes to see a damp, metal ceiling with dripping pipes. It arched slightly, as if she was in a giant tube.

She was lying down in a cloth hammock hanging from the edges of the small room. She looked up and saw 3 others hanging in random spots in the room. Her younger sister was sleeping on the one adjacent to her own. Her small, seventeen year-old chest would rise and fall in intervals, signaling that she was still breathing.

Hinata let out a sigh. At least she knew Hanabi was safe. Well, 'safe' wasn't the term to use. More like 'at least if I die, she dies with me' kind of safe. The Hyuuga sisters were lost. The small room didn't seem familiar at all. It was a total contrast to large, pale yellow room she had in the manor. It was grimy and dark—fairly neat, but the rusty scrap metal walls couldn't be helped.

Suddenly, she heard heavy footsteps approach her. She grabbed the light cotton blanket that was bunched up at her lap and threw it over her head, attempting to hide herself. It was useless though, for a bright looking blonde grabbed the blanket and pulled it over.

"Sorry about that, but you need to be awake for this." He said and offered her his hand to get up.

Hinata was mesmerized. This kid—loud, blonde, and cheerful—was her kidnapper? He looked to be about her age of 20 and had cerulean blue eyes. His hair spiked in every direction and was an obnoxiously bright yellow, which contrasted with his all black attire of cargo pants, boots and t-shirt. A military dog tag hung from a silver chain and jingled every time he rocked back on his heels.

"Dobe, stop staring at the charge." Another boy followed inside the small room, and whacked the blond on the back of his head. He dressed similarly to the blonde in the black cargo pants and boots. His shirt was a clean white and he had a black leather biker jacket on top. His hair spiked only at the back and ebony bangs fell on either side of his face. A dog tag also hung from his neck on a silver chain.

"I wasn't staring!" The blonde boy defended, trying to put up an aggressive front.

"Well, whatever you two! Just shut up and get out!" A pink haired girl appeared at the doorway, crowding the room even more. Hinata thought she was as good looking as the two boys in front of her. She had short bubblegum pink hair and emerald green eyes. She wore a body hugging black tank top and skin-tight leggings tucked under the opening of her flat boots. She had elbow guards in black and the same dog tag on a chain, accompanied by a circular pendant.

"But Sakura-chan…" The blonde pleaded.

"Hinata-san needs to get dressed. Plus, I have to wake up Hanabi because_ somebody_ gave her an overdose!" She was obviously referring to the blonde, who was whipping his hands around defensively.

"But—"

"Shut it Naruto!" She stated with poison dripping in every word. She pulled out gloves from her back pocket and slipped them on, all with a scowl on her face. "Get. Out. Now. Naruto."

The blue-eyed boy hastily left, dragging the other male by the jacket. Once they were out, the pinkette by the name of 'Sakura' turned towards the older Hyuuga with a smile.

"I'm sorry about my brothers. Sometimes they're harder to handle than others." She said sweetly, before bending down to open a chest. She pulled out a loose grey T-shirt and a pair of khaki long shorts and threw it in Hinata's direction. "Put these on. They might not be much. It's all we could spare. Besides, you must be really uncomfortable in….that. I know I would've been."

Hinata glanced down to see what she was talking about. She remembered now—they were taken in the middle of a celebration, the birthday of a distant cousin whose name she could not remember, meaning she was still in her formal clothing. She was still in a light blue halter dress that flowed down to mid-calf. A large ribbon tied itself around her and was placed at her back.

She didn't see anything wrong with the picture, but when Sakura turned around to wake Hanabi up, she unzipped the side of her dress quietly. Before she could reach for the shirt given to her, footsteps came and the door was flung open.

"Yo Sak, Lee dislocated his arm during training and crap…" A brown haired boy appeared at the doorway. His hair was messy and ruffled, and his canines were pointier than usual. He wore a grey mesh shirt over some grey cargo pants and combat boots. Red triangles were painted under his eyes and the signature dog tag hung from his neck.

Hinata suddenly brought her arms protectively to her chest and turned around, a slight blush on her face. While Hanabi started to stir awake, Sakura shot a glare at the male. "Kiba, get the _hell _out of here!" She demanded, not before flinging a syringe at him, scratching his face. The brunette quickly left the room, just as Sakura jumped towards the door and screamed: "You'd better pray that the charge doesn't have AIDS!"

Hinata managed to slip on her shirt and the shorts quickly before she turned around to see Hanabi fully awake and sitting up. She didn't even have to turn around though—her ranting was enough. Sakura merely stood there trying to calm her down.

"Hanabi-san, we mean no wrong! We just"—the pinkette grabbed the younger Hyuuga by the shoulders and shook them violently—"We just want to talk."

Hanabi visibly calmed down, but still kept a hard glare on the pinkette.

"Alright, I guess someone has to explain this to you." Sakura sighed, before digging into another chest on the other side of the room and pulling out a white shirt and black shorts. "Put these on first, then meet me outside the door."

Sakura then slipped out of the room, shutting the door behind her. She planned to stay outside this time, in order to keep her perverted group mates away.

"Onee-chan, can we really trust these people?" Hanabi asked as she stared at the spot the pink haired girl had once been.

Hinata sighed and shook her head. "I'm not sure. But they haven't tried to hurt us yet." She said.

--

The two Hyuugas followed Sakura's booted steps with their own barefooted ones as she walked through the damp hallway. "Again, I apologize for the clothing. It was all we could spare. Most of us have barely 3 changes of clothing. Our money usually goes to the organization. Mine usually goes to the medical supplies." She said. "We get our money from selling out old possessions: clothing, jewelry, furniture and land. Land mostly. It's become very valuable after the raids conducted by your father."

"Father would never do that!" Hanabi snapped. "The rebellion did that! It's Hidden Leaf's—"

"Why would we do that?" Sakura backfired. "We're living fine on our own. We're just a bunch of kids, rowdy for sure, but we were NEVER capable of doing that! Hidden Leaf is a reform organization, trying to regain what Fire Country lost! While you Hyuugas became richer and richer, our families lost everything! We're living underground, LITERALLY!" Her breathing started to slow as she regained herself. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that."

Hanabi continued to glare at her, but it somehow softened. Hinata thought that it was out of fear, because in all actuality, the woman was quite scary. But the fact that she placed the name Hyuuga as that of a villain made her cringe as well.

Sakura coughed slightly. "Hidden Leaf, or Konoha, is a reform organization that aims to rebuild Fire Country." She repeated. "The reason why we have you is because you two are the heirs to the throne. Now, we didn't capture you for money or power, just to knock some sense into you." Sakura explained as she led them to a small, adequate room with two table-and-bench sets, a refrigerator and a stove inside. Several people were already inside, including Sakura's brothers and the boy who walked in on Hinata dressing.

"Sakura-san, with all due respect, may I ask if you can help my arm?" A tall man with his hair in a strange bowl cut approached, clutching his right shoulder with his other hand.

"Of course Lee-san." Sakura said sweetly and motioned for him to sit down. She stretched his injured limb and pulled on it violently, causing the poor bug-eyed man to cry in pain. "Sorry Lee-san!" Sakura apologized profusely as the green clad Lee stood up.

"No, NO Sakura-san! It's fine! But one day, I shall win your heart, my youthful blossom!" Lee declared and Sakura just sweatdropped.

"It's nice to know, Lee-san." She said, watching him leave the kitchen. She then pointed to the nearest bench and told them to sit down. The pink-haired woman opened the refrigerator and pulled out two sandwiches in Ziploc bags.

Setting them in plates, she presented them in front of the other two girls who reverted their eyes to the brunette approaching Hinata.

"Hey," It was the boy from earlier.

"Kiba…" Sakura growled, sitting on the bench across from the white-eyed girls, clutching a mug of tea.

"L-listen, I'm sorry for that. I mean, walking into the room while you were…erhm, yeah…" He babbled, rubbing the back of his neck childishly. Once he regained composure, he ran a hand through his locks and then extended his hand to shake. "I'm Inuuzuka Kiba, by the way."

"Inuuzuka…?" Hinata thought deeply. "Why does that seem so…"

"Familiar? Well, my sister was Lady Inuuzuka, before she disappeared during a raid a few years ago. She was accused of part of Hidden Leaf, so they attacked our house and…"

"Oh." Hinata whispered. Sakura was right. "I'm—"

"You don't need to tell me. Everyone here knows who our charges are. Hyuuga Hinata, right?" She nodded as he continued. "Well, I hope you get to see the world from our point of view, ne?" He chuckled before moving to the other table where the blonde boy from earlier and a brown-haired girl were having an arm-wrestling match.

"I was going to apologize…" Hinata mumbled to herself.

The pink-haired medic giggled. "That was Kiba. He's our head tracker here along with Aburame Shino," Sakura pointed to a dark-haired man with sunglasses, who just impassively observed everything from the corner. "He and Kiba were best friends for ten years, ever since his parents went missing along with Kiba's sister. Dog-boy doesn't want to admit his sister's death. He still thinks she's in hiding, just like the rest of us; so don't give his any remorse. Before that, his parents were assassinated in front of him when he was six, and Hana took over the family."

The Hyuuga sisters merely nodded, absorbing all the information.

Sakura then motioned to a blonde woman, the sleeping male and a chubby guy munching on a bag of potato chips. "Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji—their fathers were major generals. The best, in fact. They never knew what happened to them. One day, they just suddenly disappeared, and they ended up living by themselves. They sold their land and joined Konoha to find out what happened to their fathers.

"The boy you saw earlier was Rock Lee. We don't know where the hell he came from, except for the fact he was adopted by Maito Gai, a martial arts specialist and a friend of Sasuke's teacher, Hatake Kakashi. He came to us saying that he wanted to defend his – quote – beloved Fire Country with the spirit of youth, or something. Then He developed some kind of crush on me.

"The girl with brown hair in buns is Tenten. She has been an orphan from the start and has been abused by Fire's soldiers in unmentionable ways." Sakura visibly shuddered. "Anyways, after that, she was found by Mitarashi Anko, a weapon designer. She used to supply our weapons, until she was arrested under the account of supplying our weapons. We don't know what happened after that, but at least she never told on us.

"Uchiha Sasuke. Yes, he is _the_ Uchiha Sasuke, the massacre survivor. He found out that Itachi was ordered to kill the family, because they were already conspiring against your father. After his sixteenth birthday and seven long years with Kakashi, who by the way was caught during a Fire raid, he joined us."

When she glanced at the raven-haired boy, he smirked slightly and nodded at the pinkette. In turn, she propped her head on her fist and stuck her tongue out, causing the Uchiha to flinch.

"He fears me." Sakura played. "Anyways, the other loud blonde is Uzumaki Naruto. His father was Namikaze Minato, who died protecting the country from the Kyuubi no Kitsune Bandit attack, and his mother was Lady Uzumaki Kushina, who was killed in childbirth. After that, the toad Sannin, Jiraiya took him in. He has been my surrogate brother since I was four."

"And what about you?" Hanabi asked with a scoff.

"Pardon?"

Hinata answered for her sister. "What's your story Sakura-san?"

"Hag," Someone called from behind the three women, causing all their heads to turn to the source of the voice.

Standing there was a pale man, his skin the complete opposite of his hair. His t-shirt was cut in half and exposed his (well shaped) stomach. Black slacks and gloves were matched with it, plus his heavy artillery boots. Like pretty much everyone else in this organization, he had a dog tag hanging around his neck.

"Sai, you baka," Sakura snapped.

"The Sand Siblings is here." He stated bluntly, then turned to face the Hyuuga sisters. "Are these our charges?" He asked.

Sakura stood up. "Yeah. But since I can't leave them with you alone…" She looked past Sai's shoulder to call someone over from the other table. The blonde guy from earlier, who they found out a while ago, was Naruto, the brunette with her hair in two buns named Tenten and a blonde Sakura pointed out was named Ino all came over.

"Forehead, are you going to deal with that sand bitch?" Ino sang out. "Because if she hurts Shika—"

"Don't worry, their relationship's fine. I just have to talk with her and her brothers. Could you take care of the charges for me?" She asked sweetly, then walked away before anyone could decline, taking with her the two black haired boys and Nara Shikamaru.

Ino sighed. Up close, the Hyuugas got a better look at the two.

Ino's banana (see 'Sunburn' for references) blond hair was up in a high ponytail and cascaded down to her mid-back. She wore a black shirt and a khaki button-down one over it, tied at the bosom. Her pants were green cargo shorts and she wore the signature black combat boots and dog tag.

Tenten sat beside her and propped her heavy combat boots on the table and leaned back on the wall. She had a beige tank top on with camouflage pants. Again, a dog tag hung around her neck on a chain, swishing to the pace she plopped on the bench.

After a few awkward moments, Hanabi asked, "What's Sakura's story?"

Ino looked up from the juice glass she was swishing around out of boredom. "Pardon?"

"She told us what happened to you guys, but not her story." Hanabi explained. "What's hers?"

Ino and Tenten shared a knowing glance with each other and then directed it to Naruto. "Why me?" He asked, waving his arms around defensively.

"Fine, I'll tell it." Tenten offered, lowering her boots and leveling herself with everyone else on the table. Somehow, everyone else scattered in the room transpired to their table to listen.

Tenten inhaled deeply, looking annoyed with the other people in the room. The air was tense as she opened her mouth to speak.

"When Sakura was four, she was found in the middle of a battlefield, with no memories of what happened before that and lots of blood on her hands. Everyone else around her was dead. Senju Tsunade and her team happened to stumble across her. Tsunade later adopted her and taught her everything she knows. Her past is still a mystery though and the only links she has are the dog tag given at birth and the pendant someone gave her before that happened."

Hinata and Hanabi and the rest of the room were silent, absorbing everything just said. Then, the younger Hyuuga looked up and said, "Then she doesn't know that the pendant she's wearing is the Hyuuga Jade?"

**A/N: EXCUSES!!!**

**A: School's a bitch. **

**B: MY LAPTOP CHARGER FIZZED AND CRACKLED. AND it has ALL MY NEW CHAPTERS!! GAH! ALL OF THEM WERE DONE!!! BUT _NO_ THE CHARGER HAD TO EXPLODE!!! ~x((**

**So, this file was already in the document upload manager thing, and I needed a way to break the news to all you subscribers. So, yeah. - scratches head -**

**Anyways, I'm happy with this story. I've been working on it for a few months, so I hope there won't be any grammar errors or anything. :)) ILABSHOO. :D**

**~Bella  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: LOOK! SHE'S ALIVE!!**

**enjoy. :D**

With the males flanking either side and behind her, she entered the drafty and damp excuse for a meeting room. With her hands folded by her hips, she looked as threatening as anyone with pink hair could be. Still, this could not compare to the three figures standing on the opposite side of the room.

"Ah, nice to see that Konoha respectfully let us wait for _only_ half an hour this time." Temari, the sandy-haired female of the three, snarled with an oddly playful tone.

"It's good to see you again, Temari-chan." Sakura grinned, before going in to give the other woman a hug. "We're sorry for making you wait, but we've got a bit on our hands."

"So the operation you guys told us about was a success?" Kankuro asked, victory laced in his scratchy voice.

He was answered with a curt nod and a quick "Aa" from the Uchiha in the room.

"It is advised, though, that outsiders do not make contact with them for a while, since they still see quite unstable." Sai added, addressing the obviously distressed state of their 'guests'. "Growing accustomed to Konoha-folk is hard, much less that of Suna."

"I see." The redhead and most diplomatic of the three asked. His fingers were laced together by his face, eyes closed in a thinking position. "Then we are of no use here."

"Actually," Shikamaru slyly smirked. Another plot (or three hundred, who knows) was forming in his brain. "You are welcome to stay in the opposite wing for a while."

After a long and silent sibling-telepathy session, the three nodded.

"We are glad to oblige."

--

"Hyuuga Jade? Never heard of it." Tenten said with disinterest, but anyone could see that said interest was quipped.

"Well, the Hyuuga Jade is the symbol of the purity of the Hyuugas. There are only three authentic pendants like that in existence—one for display in our mansion, one in the possession of the current head and one for the heir. Subsequently, the one for the heir went missing right before onee-chan's 3rd birthday." Hanabi explained with the unrequited knowledge that could only belong to a Hyuuga.

"Are you accusing Sakura-chan of stealing the Jade then?" Naruto questioned as an angry glint in his eye as he looked up at the younger Hyuuga.

"No," Hanabi dismissed the thought with a light tone. "Well, it depends. Knowing the history between Leaf and Fire…"

"So you're accusing her?"

--

Shikamaru and Temari moved towards the 'Tactics Room', where Shikamaru spent most of his time tinkering around. But with the said blonde around, he'd have a bit of a hard time keeping up with her tactics.

In shogi, that is.

Sakura giggled at the sound of their banter, just like an old couple. With Sasuke and Sai on either side, they made their way back to the makeshift kitchen to meet with their comrades. But first, she had to stop by somewhere.

"Go ahead," She told them. "I'm just gonna get something."

--

"Are you?!" Naruto slammed his palms on the table, demanding an answer from the learned royal. She kept her face blank as she stared into the cerulean pools of the blonde which were slowly turning red.

She blinked, telling herself the red was just an illusion. The very moment she contemplated this reality, the table surged forward knocking her and her sister onto the ground.

"Naruto! Naruto, calm yourself!" She heard the pleas of the rebels. Through her blurred vision, she could definitely make out the golden-haired man thrashing around in Tenten and Chouji's hold. He slipped away though, and was about to pounce on her defenseless, rumpled form on the floor, right before a blur of black appeared, grabbed him and put him on a chokehold on the floor.

She sat up, still recovering from the wave of pain from the table's force on her. She leaned on the wall to support herself as she analyzed the whole dilemma in the kitchen. On her right, Hinata was staggering onto her feet with the help of Shino. Tenten and Lee were setting the table back on all four legs, the female complaining about how wobbly it would be after today. And then there was Naruto, lying eagle-spread on the floor, Sasuke's knees on either side of his torso. A syringe previously dug into Naruto's neck was in lying not too far away from Sasuke's hand.

"Are you alright, Hanabi-san?" Sai asked, smiling as he opened his hand out to help her.

"I think." She muttered. "What was that?"

"Oh, well, that's the work of your father."

--

They sent Naruto to confinement.

He apologized profusely for hurting the charges, even though he didn't do it on purpose.

"_We told you over and over: if you loose control like that again, we can't let you outside."_

He slammed the wall, rattling the chains attached to his wrist in the process. The metal wall creaked with age, making being in that cell even more annoying. He bowed his golden head into his hands in shame, to look up only when the equally old and rusty door to the cell opened.

"Sakura-chan," He breathed out lowly once he saw the halo of pink around his best friend's face. Her hair and her pale skin were the only parts of her he could see, since his vision was blurring and her black attire blended with the darkness of the cell.

She saw his face brighten up when he noticed the tray of food she held. It was a simple meal of hot instant ramen and some water, but she knew Naruto would be pleased just by this.

"Savor it." She said. "I can't sneak you any more than this, so don't gobble it down all at once."

Appreciative of the food, he took it and started picking away at the noodles. "Arigatou Sakura-chan."

She sat down on the floor beside him, observing silently the way he slurped down the noodles and proceeded with the meat.

"You didn't have to do that." She broke the heavy silence in the confinement cell.

Knowing what she meant, Naruto put down his now empty bowl and turned to her. "I had to Sakura-chan. I couldn't just let her insult you like that."

"Naruto, if it meant injuring the charges, much less our comrades for that, I would take all the accusations willingly!" She stood up abruptly, throwing her arms in the air to make her point. "You know I don't like seeing people hurt."

He looked up with his piercing blue eyes, then brought them down again. "Me neither Sakura-chan, especially when it's you getting hurt."

Her breathing became shorter and more urgent, as if she was going to blow up any second. She turned away and grabbed at her bubblegum pink hair with a groan. "I don't need you or Sasuke to baby-sit me anymore! In fact, I'm older than the both of you! I can take care of myself you know. I'm a big girl."

Naruto pondered on this as she picked up the tray and proceeded out the door. For so long, Sakura had been independent. Tsunade, though well-meaning and accepting, was quite ruthless when it came to survival training; therefore Sakura provided for herself most of the time. Her only friends during that time were himself and Sasuke, and although they were the best of friends even until now, Sakura has always been the secluded one.

"Naruto?" She called through the barred opening on the door.

"Yeah?"

"I don't like seeing you get hurt either."

"I know Sakura-chan, I know."

--

"So clue me in on this: you want me to track down this 'jade' some snotty royal told you about?" She scoffed.

"Hai." He linked his fingers together to rest his chin. "We believe it will lead her to her past."

"But what if her past is just as crappy as ours—full of lies, death, and deceit?" The blonde set her feet on the table, heavy duty boots making the glasses filled with water and other items of the table jump a bit. "What kind of a friend would you be then, ne, Uchiha?"

"Sakura deserves to know, doesn't she? You've seen her. She never sleeps."

"Neither does my brother. Then again, we have to consider the fact that he was injected with that chemical like Naruto was…"

"She's always awake…thinking."

Temari set down her boots to take a sip from the glass set before her. "Fine," she said. "You owe me one Uchiha. But I do things my way, so if a few people get hurt…"

"One condition: not a word about this to anyone else."

"That kinda cancels out the purpose of this whole investigation of ours, doesn't it?"

--

"Itai!" Hinata cried as Ino wrapped up her bruised stomach in a starch white bandages.

"I'm sorry this hurts, but I'm not as gently as Sakura when it comes to medical care." The blonde stated, clipping the bandages together. She let the Hyuuga lie down in the cot, allowing her to rest. She then went to the other cot to check on Hanabi, who only suffered from a hard hit on the head from a wall.

"It's the Jade…why won't you believe me? Sakura probably stole it from the Hyuuga mansion before it was supposed to be given to the heir." Hanabi squinted, concentrating on easing her headache. "Now the heritage of the kingdom is all screwed up."

"Your sister is supposedly the first in line, right?" Ino said as she packed up the medical kit and slid it under the cot.

"Onee-chan is weak. Father would've never chosen her." Hanabi scoffed.

"So you're next in line?"

"Honestly…" The Hyuuga started, but the door opened abruptly to show Kiba, Sai and Shikamaru entering the room.

"You guys lied." Shikamaru stated.

"There is more than just you two."

--

It was a stockroom of herbs. It was her favorite place, regardless of the fact it was underground. Her hard work paid off here, growing in the artificial light of huge spotlights and stream water, which flowed from an underground spring. She built a few pipes, and voila! The room had its own fountain system!

She had a variety of herbs: some from her missions to far off areas, others inherited from her teacher, Lady Tsunade. The pinkette pulled off her gloves and stroked a hand over the leaves on some of the plants, smiling as she did so.

Yes, this was her happy place.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: OH YES YES YES WHO IS ALIVE? I AM!!!!!!!**

**Okay, so my cousin (who does not have an FF...i think) read all of my fanfictions stored in my laptop (the magical USB cracked in half) and begged me to continue. **

**So here's just a little note telling you I AM NOT DEAD. I wrote this in 30 minutes, then wrote part of the new Dance Floor chap, then wrote half of the new A-Z chap (G). **

**Yes, so I'm alive, and gonna continue posting. :)) **

**LOVE YOU GUYS! ENJOY~~~!  
**

**~O~  
**

Hiashi slammed the table with all his might. The rebels came and attacked his estate, ruined a Hyuuga celebration and took his two daughters. He had _every right_ to be mad.

Though Hinata and Hanabi were barely dirt to him, he had to keep the "good father" façade up as to not confuse his subjects. They were already panicked by the fact his brother just _died_ and let him take over the empire they had built together and that none of his daughters have ever been seen in the same room as him.

"Hiashi-sama," Three councilors, well over the age of sixty, entered his sitting room. They knelt down and bowed before him, and then raised their heads to continue. "I believe we need to take proper action to retrieve your daughters."

One of the councilors spoke up. "Has Konoha sent you any ransom messages or demands?" He asked.

One of Hiashi's bodyguards placed a Ziploc bag on the table. Inside it was a note which stated _"down with the nobles of yesterday"_.

"The handwriting does not match any of our databases, but we can tell from the style that it was probably a very educated person who did." The bodyguard explained. "It was tacked on one of the pillars by the main gate."

"We suggest, Hiashi-sama," Another councilor started. "That you bring in someone for interrogation."

Another stepped forward. "May we also suggest, Hiashi-sama, to hire a special tracking unit?"

Hiashi thought for a moment, looking up for some sort of sign. "I know exactly which group I shall call for this task." He said. "But no liabilities should be able to be traced to me."

"Is there a problem with the group you wish to hire?"

"Have you heard of the Akatsuki?"

~O~

"Oi, Kakashi," The prisoner in the cell across his called.

"What is it Anko?" He asked, combing a hand through his unkempt silver hair. It's been a while since the last time a grooming session has been ordered for the prisoners, which made him feel almost totally forgotten.

With Anko as your block-mate though, how can you feel that way?

"I think they're coming for you," She pointed to the guards walking towards their cells at the very end of the block, rattling her chains in the process.

Kakashi looked up as the last footstep echoed through the prison. There were three of them in front of his cell, uniformly aligned. The one raking through his pockets for a pass card he recognized as the jailer that brought him food every other day or so. He really couldn't tell anymore.

The others wore uniforms that belonged to the National Guard.

Once the jailer had found his pass card, he swiped it across the sensor and the bars (which also had a force field around them) that held Hatake Kakashi, the great Copycat, in.

Kakashi remember how Anko sneered the first time he was thrown in prison after he was captured during a raid. He gave himself up in order to delay the National Guard so his student, Uchiha Sasuke, could escort some citizens off the affected village.

"_It's an honorable way to get yourself captured,"_ He would say in his defense.

"_Yeah, an honorable way of shaming yourself," _She backfired.

Anko herself was a lone wolf who wasn't really the type to honor codes. In fact, her under-the-table business of supplying Konoha with her specially made weapons got her thrown in here.

"Hatake Kakashi," One of the guards read out from a clipboard. "You are being ordered by the Emperor for secondary interrogation on the upper level." He stated as the jailer pulled the chains off his wrists and placed handcuffs on him instead. The jailer pulled him up and pushed him into the block.

When he was up and out of the cell, Anko saluted him jokingly and mouthed _good luck_.

Yes, he needed a lot of it.

~O~

Temari shook her head. Tracking down this "Hyuuga Jade" was taking more effort than intended. It's been four days since the Sasuke had asked her to do so. She felt as if it was taking too long, especially with someone of her expertise.

Hidden Sand was a smaller rebel group, which was plotting to overthrow its current government under their father. The three siblings left their royal lives in order to remove their father from power and work towards a more peaceful Land of Wind.

They've been allies with Hidden Leaf for about six years. The two groups have been working for a new, more peaceful world, and held the same belief that old style nobles just don't remember how to run things anymore.

In their rebel group, everyone is treated equally. It doesn't matter if you came from a royal family or you're the kid of some poor fisherman. As long as you stand for what you believe in and hold no fear in your eyes, you're welcome.

Temari typed in the password to another database, hoping the information about the Hyuuga Jade was more that just _the prized possession of the Hyuugas, given to the heir of the family_ and _one of the jades disappeared before it was granted to the next heir_.

Why does Sakura have it? She was just a little girl on a battlefield, and from what Temari had read through, none of the casualties during that raid were of Hyuuga descent.

Temari had taken into consideration the little information Sakura's profile had to offer. She was found on a battlefield on the outskirts of Fire's capital city. A fight between some angry villagers, the National Guard and some of the first rebels took place where she was found.

Haruno was a civilian clan. Absolutely nothing special about a clan who's best achievement was a doctor of their descent.

Temari banged palm against her forehead in annoyance. She's been on this case since her and her brothers arrived from Konoha, and she had only left her makeshift office to grab a sandwich once a day.

She stood up and knocked her chair over. It was really pissing her off, not because Uchiha was annoying her with this task, but because she wanted it solved too.

Who is Haruno Sakura?

~O~

Konoha had found a small underground spring a few years ago, which they could access through a natural tunnel that they had discovered while building their base. It was a lovely little pool with perfect temperature. The water came from a lake nearby.

Sakura made her way to the cave, carrying a moth-eaten towel, a bar of soap and her spare change of clothes. It was her only pair after she gave her extra set to Hanabi. The pair she gave Hanabi was a long white tank top and a pair of leggings. The set she held now was a black T-shirt and a pair of green cargo pants. With it was an extra pair of underwear.

She first took of everything and stepped into the spring. The warm water was a relief from their unheated, underground, completely metal and not insulated base. But who was she to complain? She barely had anything to pay for proper clothing, much less a heater for the whole length of a pipeline.

Once she was comfortable with the temperature, she reached for her old clothes and plunged them into the water to start washing them. She scrubbed the clothes with the same soap she used for her body. It was totally unscented.

Once done with her clothes, she set them on a high rock to dry. She sunk down in the hot spring to relax a bit before Ino comes with the charges. With Ino around, she knew she wouldn't be able to. This was a luxury that would come once every 3 days, at most.

Their schedule went something like this: rigorous training from morning to lunch; eat some sandwiches; train again; discussion; rest. Sakura's personal schedule would be: shopping for supplies in the morning; train; make lunch then eat it; train some more; tend to the wounded; pay constant attention to them; pre-discussion on what will be discussed; actual discussion with the whole unit; rest.

It was tiring, especially since she doesn't sleep.

Rest was lying down in bed with her eyes wide open. Her body would be restoring energy, but she would be totally conscious. Her mind would run through the whole night. Little flashbacks that may or may not be real events in her life; computations for new medicine to cure Naruto and Gaara; the next mission; the last mission; anything about everyone and everything was thought out during the night.

Sometimes she screamed. The thoughts were sometimes painful—too painful.

Everyone has noticed her tendency to not sleep. The most concerned would probably be Naruto and Sasuke. Like real brothers, they watched over her. At one point, they would take turns watching her "sleep", and when she started screaming, they'd hold her and hum (off-key, of course) a little lullaby they had heard Tsunade sing to her before.

"Sakura-chan!" Ino shrill voice called from the edge of the tunnel that led to the spring. "I forgot my towel, so I'm gonna run back to the room and grab it, 'kay?"

Sakura gave a lazy thumbs-up before Ino dashed back down the tunnel, leaving the Hyuugas at the mouth of the tunnel.

The two girls just stood there until Sakura called them over. "No need to be ashamed," She said to the seemingly shy sisters. "It's just me."

They meekly removed their clothes and went into the water.

"We do our laundry here too, if you don't mind." Sakura told them. "Just dunk your clothes in and scrub it with this," She tossed the scentless soap bar at them, and Hanabi clumsily caught it with the hand that wasn't covering her body.

The pinkette rolled her eyes. '_Royals,'_

~O~


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: It's been almost a year since I last updated. **

**I'm sorry to say that my fanfiction-fandoms, for that matter-have taken a back seat to my studies and social life. It's been hard managing all three and still having enough time to sleep. **

**Forgive me, and enjoy the chapter! :)**

**disclaimer: Never have I owned worldwide phenomenons, much less Japanese ones.**

"So there's another one?" Shikamaru reiterated he has been interrogating Hanabi for an hour after she accidentally spilled that she wasn't the next heir. It's been two days since the arrival of the charges, and so far, there has been no progress.

"Yes," Hanabi confessed.

"What's his name then?" the strategist asked.

"How do you know it's a 'he'?" The young Hyuuga wondered. There was so much confidence in his voice, that it's unmistakable that he knew the next heir was male.

"Heirs are usually by bloodline; whoever the closest was to the current or former king. The only one who would be able to succeed the first child would be a second child, but only if the second child is male. A second child who is female is not given much attention to, and considered incompetent to head the family. This person—this man—is most likely your cousin. The son of a sibling of your father's. The only sibling your father has is Hyuuga Hizashi, who was deceased before the civil war began. His son is a little bit older that your sister. I know exactly who he is, but his name escapes me. If you don't tell me though, you're probably protecting him. But that's okay, because I can just ask my friends to crunch a few numbers, and get his name."

Hanabi was dumbfounded by his explanation, not because he confused her, but because he knew so much.

"Your face tells me you weren't listening to Sakura a while ago. You're probably wondering why I know so much."

Hanabi nodded.

Shikamaru sighed. "Royals are so troublesome."

~O~

Sakura lay in the hammock reserved for Ino, but since she gave Hinata hers, they have been taking shifts resting to accommodate all of them in the small chamber. She fiddled with her dog tag, and the claimed "Hyuuga Jade" that rested on the same chain.

HARUNO, SAKURA

DOB: 03-28

BLOOD TYPE: AB +

COO: FIRE

This information has been with her since the day of her birth. She knew it by heart, how each embossed letter felt, the weight of the chain. She even knew the number of links on the chain.

She turned her head to the left, and saw Hinata Hyuuga studying the ceiling above her.

"Do you remember anything?" Hinata asked.

The question caught Sakura off guard. She took a moment to think about the context, before replying, "Nothing. I remember nothing."

Hinata's heart dropped at the thought of not knowing anything from your past. "Parents? Siblings? Town? Nothing?"

Sakura sat up in the hammock and shook her head. "My first memory is that battlefield. As far as parents are concerned, it's Lady Tsunade and Jiraiya who raised me, and take those titles. My real parents are gone. Siblings? Basically everyone in the complex, but Naruto would be the closest to a brother. Town? I don't really know. I was found in a battlefield that _used to be_ a merchant's town, but I'm not sure if I am from there."

"Then...do you remember anything about the jade?"

Sakura shut her eyes tightly. "Sometimes...a flash of a memory returns. But it's not relevant to anything."

"What is it?" Hinata inquired. This woman...no, this girl...seemed so strong, but her demeanor was broken by a certain emptiness in her eyes that could never be filled.

"It's not very specific. It's like...the feeling of someone's hand in mine being pulled away quickly by someone larger. Then I'm alone." Sakura explained. "Bleh, I'm probably boring you. I didn't even answer your question!"

"I-it's fine." the other woman answered. "You seem to be um, holding up well f-for someone who went through all of that."

Sakura stood up. The appearance of emptiness and exhaustion was gone, replaced by the strength she saw earlier. "When I loose something, I find it. No matter how long it takes."

~O~

"Hidden Leaf? You make the request way too easy, Hyuuga-sama, un." One of the four men in black and red embroidered coats standing in his office commented at his request. "We'll have your daughters in no time."

"I assume you're the best at what you do." Hiashi answered, sending the four off. They then disappeared ominously into the darkness.

Outside the palace, three of the four shadowy figures discussed under a tree.

"So where should we look first, yeah?" The blond one asked. "Those brats don't stand a chance against my new art! It's so fleeting, you only have seconds to appreciate it, un!"

"Deidara," A redheaded companion called out to him, irritated by his elongated speeches that contradicted his own. "you have to remember: kill all you want, but the objective is to recapture the Hyuuga daughters."

"Ah...can't wait to get to slash all those idiot rebels with my Samehada blade!" One of the men, so pale that he was almost blue, said, brandishing a weapon composed of several deadly spikes.

"Eh...by the way, yeah. Where's Itachi?" Deidara asked.

The one called Itachi appeared seconds later, from above. "I have a separate set of orders."

"Of course, Itachi." The redheaded one, named Sasori, said.

"One; when we arrive at the Hidden Leaf base, we cannot completely destroy it. The Fire Nation wants to investigate it." Itachi stated.

"Damn, I was looking forward to blowing it up, yeah." Deidara commented.

"Two; no harm can come to the heads of Hidden Leaf. There are supposedly nine of them. They need to be detained for further interrogation."

The bluish man, Kisame, groaned in disappointment.

"Three; if Sasuke Uchiha is there, he is mine."

"Ah, little brother problems." Sasori noted, before disappearing to lead the way.

~O~

"I'm very disappointed in you, Neji." Hiashi said, stumbling upon his nephew in the grand library.

"My apologies, uncle." Neji said, putting down the book he held in his hand.

Hiashi studied his nephew once again. He had grown to look a lot like a typical Hyuuga: long hair, strong facial features, white eyes. Something in him just seemed more superior. Hiashi had put the full trust of the future of Fire nation on him, and he believed he could handle it. He believed he could be the head of security for one event. But it just so happened that the one event given to him, his daughters disappear.

"I trusted you with security Neji. How are you supposed to run this country if you can't even protect your family?"

"If it is anything redemptive, I sent out search teams to find Hinata-sama and Hanabi-sama."

Hiashi nodded. He knew that already. But sent his _team_ just in case."Why do you call them your masters, Neji?"

"It's a sign of respect, uncle. They are your children, from the main family, and it is a given that they have those titles." Neji answered coolly.

"But Neji, they are nothing. They are subordinates. You are soon to be the true ruler of the family—of the country. I think you should start acting like it." Hiashi said. "I'd announce it too, but wouldn't it be embarrassing for people to learn that the family Jade that marks you the heir, is missing?"


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I'M UPDATING! Whoo, success. B-) **

**Anyways, I really just want to revel in the fact that I'm on summer vacation and I'm EXPLOITING it. I've already finished one story (check it out-_Dance Floor_, a GaaSaku story), and I'm gonna try to finish this and _A-Z: The Dream Team, Uncut!_. **

**Yes, I'm shamelessly advertising my other stories. **

**Anyways, since the last chapter was just about four pages, you'd be glad to know that I DOUBLED IT. AND wrote it in ONE SITTING. Pretty impressive, ne? **

**So enough excuses and introductions. Here's where everything begins to make sense, and the action picks up! And, seeing as this is a NaruHina story, WE HAVE SOME NARUHINA FLUFF! Where? JUST READ!**

**Disclaimer: Last time I checked, I wasn't Japanese or extremely successful. Meaning, I don't own the Naruto Anime or Manga, but I own this story. **

* * *

Neji rubbed his head in annoyance. It's been two weeks since the disappearance of his two cousins, and he'd been traveling across the expanse of Fire Country with his own guard for about a week and a half. Over that expanse of time, he had found two Konoha bases and had them overtaken. But no one manning the bases wanted to talk about where his cousins were.

"Neji-sama, there's a small town a few miles ahead." Said a scout who was standing on a branch of a tree. He put down his binoculars as he looked to the Hyuuga for guidance.

"We will stop there for the night, then survey the area in the morning." He deadpanned, getting back into the jeep another of his soldiers drove and led the convoy towards the small town.

~O~

"Arigato, Tsunami-san." Sakura took back her basket, now filled with a few scrawny fish in it.

Like stated before, Sakura's life was a routine. As of right now, it was her duty to do some grocery shopping before the other rebels got hungry.

She had made sure she wouldn't be remembered by anyone who was loyal to the rebel cause. Regardless of the small size of the town, there were many of Fire Country's guards stationed around it. She covered her bright pink hair with a black scarf before putting on a hooded jacket. In fact, the vendors she trusted most to supply the rebels didn't see anything to remember her by except her emerald green eyes.

Luckily enough, the day was overcast. The shade of the sky met the grey of the crack cement road, sparsely littered and with a miserable air hanging over the citizens along with the smell of dead rats and rotten food. Even in the marketplace, where most people in the town come across at least twice a day, there was no sound of happy conversation or children's laughter. Everyone was just plain...sad.

_'I have fish and some fruits and vegetables...all I need now is bread and milk._' Sakura enumerated to herself as she walked down the dusty road of the rural village, located at the border of Fire Country. The populated was less than a thousand, making it hard to be inconspicuous. Luckily, the guards placed here are very lax compared to any others (especially the ones closest to the capital), and their interest hasn't been peaked by anything in this small town.

"Ohayo, Wanatabe-san," Sakura greeted, entering the small bread shop. She looked around, seeing that the display was a collection of some very plain breads, possibly from yesterday...or the day before. It was the same as always, after all. No one could really afford basic necessities like clothing, much less expensive ingredients needed in bread making.

The humble baker smiled, seeing a familiar, black-clad figure enter his shop. "What can I do for you today, Sakura-san?"

"Is my usual order ready?" She asked, a faint smile gracing her lips.

Wanatabe, a man in his early thirties, couldn't help but admire the mysterious young woman that visited his small shop twice a week. Though her young face held that tiredness everyone had, she was still quite mesmerizing. He and some other vendors knew she was a rebel, but all of them agreed not to tattle. After all, she was probably one of the very few daring enough to begin the free flowing of foods and rations through the country again.

"Thank you, Wanatabe-san." She said, picking up the three loaves of bread he had wrapped in paper, and placed it in her basket. She walked back out to the street, then making her way towards the small dairy farm at the edge of the town.

The cloaked girl then stopped herself, seeing a small supplies stand, remembering the need for some instant ramen and some other instant things that it sold. She pivoted and made her way to cross the road, almost colliding with a tall man.

~O~

The team of ten Fire Guards walked through the town as inconspicuously as possible. It was in their commander's wish not to alert any citizens, causing them to distrust the Empire more than they already do. The soldiers were ordered to dress as civilians.

Neji currently walked around the marketplace with two of his other companions flanking either side. He then asked them to split up. He was then alone, dressed in a khaki jacket, black slacks and his combat boots. His eyes were shielded by a pair of sunglasses, since everyone would then recognize who he was if his eyes had been exposed. His dark hair was tied at the nape.

He walked along the sidewalk, studying the citizens with an analytic gaze. Here, there seemed to be nothing more that mothers trying to feed their deprived children, struggling vendors, and a homeless person here and there. Pretty much everyone was in a dull shade of brown or grey. Or their clothes haven't been washed in a while. Neji couldn't really tell the difference.

He was thrown off balance when someone in front of him whirled around unexpectedly, making him land on his backside. The person (judging by the tiny frame) was a woman. Suspiciously, she was covered head-to-toe in black.

"Ah, sorry," The woman said, collecting the loaf of bread and the apple that had fallen out of her basket. She managed to save all of her stash before looking up to the victimized man she had bumped into. Her emerald eyes went wide when she realized that she had matched his own white.

Neji's eyes narrowed. His shades have fallen off his face, giving a full view of his trademark white eyes.

"Hyuuga..." The name came out venomously, and the petite woman's lips curved to form a snarl.

At that same moment, the two soldiers flanking him had reappeared by his side. One helped the Hyuuga up, and the other had the woman pinned face down on the ground. She let out a menacing cry as her arms were held is such a way that they would snap if the soldier out a little more pressure on his hold.

"Citizen, you have disobeyed the first rule of the Empire: putting down the name of Hyuuga in both a physical and verbal manner."

~O~

It's been two weeks since the two sisters had been housed in the rebel compound. Truth be told, they were quite comfortable. None of the rebels held them in reverence like any other citizen would, but they weren't put down as well. They were treated as equals, even being allowed to watch sparring sessions.

Hinata woke up to the sound of Hanabi shuffling out of the room. The older Hyuuga sister followed in wake, dressing in the borrowed clothes and walking down the dreary hallway towards the makeshift kitchen. There, she saw her sister, civilly conversing with people she had recently looked down upon. Ino was at the counter making a few sandwiches and wrapping them in plastic for refrigeration. The blonde looked up as she entered the room.

"Good morning, Hinata-san." She greeted with a small smile. "Sandwich?"

Hinata hesitantly nodded, honestly tired of sandwiches. It was all the rebels could have though, with such low accommodations. She slowly began to understand what had been happening, especially after being enlightened on how it was so hard to ration foods nowadays. The area they were in (although no one was specific), is often disregarded by the capital, and not given enough imports to feed their population, regardless of how small it was.

Once Hinata was settled on one of the tables with Ino, someone else entered the small kitchen.

"Oh, Naruto." Tenten, who was entertaining Hanabi, looked up to see the disheveled blonde man outside of solitary confinement. "You're out?"

Naruto nodded in affirmation, giving her and the other occupants of the room his signature grin. "I'm well enough now."

"I see." Shino, who had been sitting with Tenten and the younger Hyuuga, acknowledged him.

The blonde's grin faded as he realized that the elder Hyuuga sister was also in the room. He sat down across her, sliding into the bench beside Ino. "Ah, Hinata-san, I'm sorry about that kick I delivered to your stomach. Sakura-chan told me that you cracked your rib."

Unconsciously, Hinata brought her hand to her injury. She was about to graciously explain that it wasn't that bad, but Naruto continued.

"I just...didn't like the way your sister was talking about Sakura-chan. She's like a sister to me, you see. I mean, wouldn't you be offended if someone talked bad about Hanabi-san?" He asked, a sober tone in his voice. All anger was gone, and so was the childishness she had seen in him earlier. He stared at her with serious blue eyes, getting his message across. "So, if you can forgive me, can we start again?"

The blue-haired woman smiled softly. "Oh! Of course."

As a grin was creeping back up Naruto's tanned features, the screech of a chair caught everyone's attention. The younger Hyuuga was standing, looking at the apologetic blonde accusingly. "What the hell happened to you?" She wondered with an angry tone. The moment Naruto tackled her and her sister, his eyes has glowed red, and he looked different.

Naruto's smile was gone, replaced by contemplation. "Well, you can blame it on your dad."

"_That's your dad's fault."_ The Uchiha's words rang in the sisters' memories of the moment that Naruto had attacked them.

"Before Ero-sennin—um, Jiraiya-sama, the Toad Warrior," Naruto referred to the fatherly man by his proper name, as a military general and such. "before he took me in, the military took me. I was a newborn. They took me, and without knowing who I was (or maybe they knew, but I'm not entirely sure), they started experimenting on me. They took blood from several Kyuubi No Kitsune members—the guys who _killed_ my father—and put it in me. The mixture was called _Kyuubi_, after them. They thought they could make some kind of _superhuman_. Well, all they created was a monster."

The room went silent. All Naruto could see was the blurry form of his hands. He hated telling the story, but it was required. He _wanted_ the Hyuuga girl's trust.

And he seemed to have gotten it when she placed her small hands in his.

"I'm sorry if this is something my father had done." She said in a forward yet gentle manner, surprising everyone and her sister.

Naruto smiled, returning her soft one. "Thanks...I guess."

~O~

Neji and the two soldiers looked down at the woman, expecting her to beg for forgiveness. After all, she was under the control of the Fire Guard, and she couldn't do anything about her situation by doing otherwise.

But of course, she did otherwise.

"Tche, as if I could _tell_ he was a Hyuuga." She said with a grunt. The angered soldier, loyal to his commander, tightened his grip on the woman's wrists. A cry muffled by grit teeth escaped her lips as the soldier pushed her even closer to the dirt road.

"Beg for forgiveness, woman." The soldier deadpanned.

The woman's body started vibrating...not with fear, but with arrogant laughter. "If you and your mighty royal commander hadn't been in town in the first place, maybe I wouldn't have _put down_ his name and person as you accuse me of doing. Which reminds me, what _are_ you doing in such a rural area, Hyuuga-sama?"

Neji couldn't answer. Why? Because he was preoccupied with the fact that the woman's hood had fallen off her head, and her scarf was bunched up by her shoulders, revealing an astonishing bright pink. He realized the color was all too familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on _why_.

The soldier did nothing but scoff. Why exactly was this woman standing up to the Fire Guard, he did not know. But he saw the chain link at the back of her neck. If he couldn't _convince_ her to apologize to the Hyuuga commander, maybe the supreme court could.

He flipped her around, hoping to find her dog tag with her vital information.

Of course, he didn't expect to get kicked in the nuts.

~O~

Sakura couldn't believe it—she had run into a Hyuuga!

Immediately, fear filled her system. Sending an _actual_ Hyuuga to the area must mean some high ranking teams have been sent to find the Hyuuga sisters, which signified that the base is in danger.

When the soldier first tackled her, she thought she could play the innocent civilian and apologize. But she knew that he had heard her say the name of _Hyuuga_ with a venomous tone that came naturally. She knew she was ultimately screwed. They'd probably take her for an overly spunky civilian, or a rebel. She went with overly spunky civilian, back-sassing the soldier.

It was only when the soldier reached to pull out her identifying tag from under her shirt did she give him a taste of her dawn-until-dusk rebel training. She kicked upwards, getting him right where it hurts. He crumpled to the ground as she stood up, laughing at a person praised to be part of the world's strongest military force.

The second soldier jumped from behind his commander (who was standing there like an _idiot_) and lunged for the pink-haired woman. She simply dodged, sidestepping the tackle. She grabbed his wrist and redirected the lunge, throwing him on the floor with more force.

The first soldier recovered from the foot-to-his-manhood and pulled out a handgun from under his jacket. He pointed it at Sakura, who simply smirked before knocking the gun away with her booted leg. She then proceeded to grab his wrist and crush it with extreme force.

Once he was cringing in pain (again), Sakura picked up the gun and pointed it at the Hyuuga. "Tell me, Hyuuga-_sama_," Her voice was just as spiteful as earlier when she had addressed him. "Why is the Fire Guard here in my small town?"

Not a moment later, eight more soldiers had her surrounded, each with a large, silver blaster gun. Sakura's bright eyes darkened, accepting defeat. She placed her measly weapon down and placed both hands at the back of her head.

"Take her away." The Hyuuga's cold voice commanded. One of the soldiers put his weapon down and pulled out a pair of handcuffs. He grabbed her wrists roughly and clasped the metal around them.

Sakura hoped they hadn't noticed Sakura drop her identifying tag-along with the so called Hyuuga Jade-into her shopping basket.

* * *

**A/N: LE GASP! A rebel has been arrested! And not just _any_ rebel, but Sakura, who has been accused of stealing a Hyuuga artifact! Neji is estranged by how familiar pink hair is, but he just can't name why. Naruto and Hinata's relationship is now (slowly) beginning! AREN'T THEY ADORABLE?**

**Oh, and BOO YOU EVIL SCIENTIST FOR PUTTING CHEMICALS IN POOR NARUTO. :(**

**So just to clarify a few things that you may be confused about:**

**- This is an ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE story, meaning that they aren't shinobi, but rather high-tech gun wielding soldiers/rebels. **

**- Remember, Naruto was _locked up_ for his outburst towards the Hyuuga sisters?**

**- Sakura is like the mommy, so she goes shopping for the family. Ino is the second mommy, and makes the sandwiches.**

**- Hanabi still detests some of the rebels, Naruto being the one she dislikes most, since he attacked her. But she's made a few friends. **

**- Tsunami is a real character (from the Mist arc-Tazuna's daughter). I found it fitting for her to be a fish vendor. Wanatabe, on the other hand, is a figment of my imagination. **

**I guess that's all for now! Hope you've been liking the story so far, and if so, A REVIEW IS VERY APPRECIATED. ;D**

**~Bella**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Bella's back! But not for long, because classes just started (it's only been three days but I'm exhausted like anything) and I might not have any time to write. Apparently, I didn't follow through with completing this story, but it got updates which I'm sure you're happy for. I'm going to try and find time to write during the school year, but I doubt I'll find much. Just confide in semestral and Christmas break from now one. ||orz**

**In other news, I GOT MY BRACES OFF! But I still have retainers. Oh well. So long as it doesn't affect my typing, I'm all good.**

**In other _other_ news, I don't own Naruto.**

**Please enjoy!**

* * *

"Hyuuga-sama, she has no identifying tag. We have began to search the place where we captured her, seeing as she could've possibly dropped it." The guard informed Neji, and left his hotel room with a curt nod.

They still haven't left the small town on the outskirts of Fire Country. They didn't want to bring around the pink-haired girl they suspected to be a rebel until they got something good enough out of her worth the Emperor's time. She wouldn't talk, regardless of how much they've tried to be agreeable. She was currently being held in one of the hotel rooms, tied down to a chair for safety purposes.

The Hyuuga stood up from his seat at his suite's desk, and padded silently out of his room on the wooden floors. He was once again dressed in a standard military uniform—black combat cargo pants, black boots and dark blue jacket with the empire's insignia on it.

He nodded to the guard stationed in front of the makeshift interrogation room, and he in turn pushed a key into the keyhole, almost fumbling with the low technological standard of the area. The hotel and the rest of the town was clearly underdeveloped, considering its rural area.

Not long after, Neji was able to enter the room. The door slammed shut behind him. He looked around the room to see their subject strapped down with electric manacles on the provided chair from the hotel, a guard stationed at every possible opening in the room (i.e., windows), and another one snapping a picture of their captive for a database search.

"Since you're not gonna tell us your name, we're gonna run a quick search as to who you are." The guard explained with a sly smile. As he carefully waited for the handheld device to begin the search, a leg shot up from out of nowhere, kicking the gadget out of the guards hands. Lucky for the guards, the device landed softly on the carpeted flooring without a scratch.

Unluckily for the girl, the guard was angry and brought his fist to her cheek. Her head snapped to the right after the blow, but she quickly retracted, giving the other occupants in the room a mean stare.

There was a glaring match that lasted a few seconds, but it was quickly broken by the resounding beep of the guard's device. He gave her a smirk. All the other guards were (metaphorically speaking) on the edge of their seats to find out who the mysterious girl who stood against Fire Country's most elite guard was.

They were all met with disappointment as the interrogating guard flashed the screen at his comrades. It had the recently taken picture of the pink-haired girl. Across her face was the word "UNIDENTIFIED" in blood red letters.

~O~

Naruto was the first to notice that Sakura was gone for longer than she was supposed to be. She was usually out in the morning, yes, but when Ino informed him that it was almost nine o'clock in the morning, he was getting suspicious.

"Sakura-chan should be back by now." He stated, standing up from his seat in the kitchen. The rest of the room's occupants looked at him, and realized the same thing. She should've been back from the market right now.

Tenten stood up from her seat as well. "I'll go make sure that he doesn't do something stupid." She remarked, following after the blonde. She knew full well what Naruto can do, and what he does when his beloved sister is in danger.

Ino stood up as well. "I'll go find...Shikamaru." She said, pitching the name of a reliable person as of the moment.

The twenty-year old woman walked down the halls of their base, her footsteps resounding as she neared her goal. She knew where to find the pineapple-headed genius, since he was usually in this room anyways. They had jokingly called it the Strategist Room, where Shikamaru would spend several hours thinking of plans to help their cause.

When she had reached her destination, she placed her right hand on a light sensor. It was a cheap but effective security system that Shikamaru had wired (and paid for) himself. It allowed her in with the sweeping motion of the heavy steel doors.

"Shikamaru," She entered the room without hesitation, spying the brunette siting in front of several computers. "do you have any idea—what in heaven's name..."

On every single computer screen, the word "HIDDEN" was scrawled on...Haruno Sakura's face.

"Shikamaru...?"

He spun lazily in his chair, fingertips connected and pointing downwards in his habitual thinking position. "Sakura has been kidnapped."

"What?" Ino said almost disbelievingly. "How did..." She trailed off, letting Shikamaru explain himself.

"She hasn't signed back in since she left for marketing. She should've been back twenty minutes ago. Sakura is a very precise person and doesn't linger to long in any place that she needn't. According to the tracking device I put on her identifying tag—yeah, I put one in everyone's—Sakura hasn't moved for the past fifteen minutes. Sakura isn't idle, and she won't be knocked out easily—she can't fall asleep anyways—which brings me to the conclusion that Sakura has been taken, and she had dropped her identifying tag to send us a message.

"Now comes the part where I have to hide all her information from the empire. There are no other rebel groups that want to spite at Hidden Leaf, and wouldn't have identified Sakura as one of us. The only explanation would be that the special Fire Guard platoon that entered the village last night must've captured her. Since she already dropped her identifying tag, they wouldn't know her name. Knowing Sakura, she wouldn't give the slightest bit of information about herself. So the Guard would eventually cross reference her facial features with their databases. I had to remove any and all information about Sakura from government and public databases, storing it in my own laptop."

Ino stared at the lax brunette, dumbfounded. "So what now, smart ass?"

Shikamaru lazily opened one eye to look at the blonde. "Find the tag before the Guard gets it. Then we find Sakura."

~O~

"Naruto," Shino calmly spoke into the hidden microphone. He bent down to pick up something that shone in a shopping basket. He figured that there were foods here, but stolen by some hungry denizens of the town. He handed the object to Kiba, who he was working with. "We found her tag."

Moments later, Naruto appeared, Tenten and Sai with him. He grabbed the tag from Kiba's outstretched hand, staring at it.

"WE NEED TO GET SAKURA-CHAN BACK!" He declared.

"_Naruto, don't scream into the microphone. I can hear you perfectly fine without it."_ Shikamaru's lazy voice drawled into everyone's earpieces.

"Sorry Shikamaru, I got carried away." He apologized.

On the other side, Shikamaru sighed. _"Anyways, the first place you'd have to think about looking for Sakura is the hotel." _

Tenten appeared by the three men. The were all dressed in casual street clothes, save for the heavy jackets hiding multiple weapons. The brunette female unconsciously pat her side, making sure her handheld blasters and knives were still intact.

"How sure are you that the Guard hasn't left yet?" Tenten whispered into the microphone.

"_I have my sources. Just trust me, alright?"_ Shikamaru reassured, and the four made their way to the only foreign lodging in the small town.

~O~

"How is it that you do not appear in any of our databases?" The man asked her, his face dangerously close to hers. His face was twisted menacingly, causing her discomfort.

Sakura began to open up her mouth to retaliate. But instead of speaking, she collected a good amount of spit and sent it in his direction.

"Bitch!" The guard replied angrily, wiping off her saliva off his cheek.

The pinkette simply smirked at the fact that she's been able to ruffle up some of the world's most talented soldiers.

Behind the smirk, she considered reasons why she was considered unidentifiable. It was strange indeed. She then realized it was probably the doing of their resident computer genius/strategist, who has probably figured out that she had gone missing before even the likes of Naruto realized she was gone.

A frown made her way to her lips when another thought came into mind. Was Shikamaru so desperate that he actually _deleted_ any and all information about her? She shook the thought off. The little information about her was precious, and Shikamaru wasn't stupid. He just needed to _hide_ the info. Yes, hide.

"So are you gonna tell us who you are?" Another soldier stepped in, taking the place of the very angered one she spat on. This one was more composed, and kept his distance respectable, but nonetheless demeaning.

Sakura put a playful pout on her soft features. "Hmmm, no." She answered harshly.

"And why not?"

The Guards in the room were obviously irritated, Sakura noticed. She looked across the room, stopping to recognize the Hyuuga that she had ran into earlier.

"Well, it hardly seems fair that I don't know your name." She said, directing the statement towards the Hyuuga. She saw him open one signature lavender eye in annoyance.

"Watari Hanazouki." the interrogating Guard answered curtly. "_Now_ will you tell me your name?"

Sakura shook her head and made a clicking noise of disapproval with her tongue. "I wasn't asking you, Hanazouki-kun." She said slyly. "I was asking Hyuuga..._sama_ over here."

The Hyuuga's eyes met her smug emerald ones with hostility. He didn't like the fact that he had to give out his first name. So he didn't. "It's of no importance to you."

Sakura's smirk faded into a deep frown. "Then mine is of no importance to you either."

She could clearly see the irritation marring the Hyuuga's features as the room fell into silence. His eyebrow was creased, and he was obviously stressed. He probably found this useless, but she knew that this was probably the closest they got to finding the heirs.

Slightly bored, and knowing this wasn't going anywhere for a while, Sakura let a smile seep on her lips in a taunting manner. "You know Hyuuga-_sama_, you speak like a branch member." She noted the aggravation that added to the irritation as he broke away from her gaze. "But you carry yourself in a much higher position. Perhaps..."

"Perhaps _what_?" The Hyuuga seethed with anger, barely controlling himself from bringing out a blaster and shooting her smug little face.

Sakura shrugged as far as the manacles binding her forearms and wrists to the back of the chair let her. "It's just rumors, is all. That Hyuuga branch member that has been viewed in high regard by the emperor himself. Probably not true though. As if _anyone_ is viewed in high regard by that bas—I mean, the emperor."

~O~

Sasuke wiped the minuscule evidence of sweat from his brow. He had just finished morning training with Rock Lee in the makeshift dojo in the underground base. Together, they walked back to the kitchen, where they knew their resident medic would be. Lee had a shallow but still bleeding gash across his leg, and Sasuke (though he won't admit to anyone but Sakura herself) had a few bruises here and there.

_'No Sakura,'_ Sasuke noted, entering the kitchen. Lee noted this as well, further aggravating another occupant; an already aggravated Ino.

"LEE! Please, shut it. Just, for now." Ino pleaded, averting her troubled blue eyes away from the two males, trying to busy herself with food preparation, regardless of the fact that the two Hyuugas in the room have finished eating.

"Where are they, Yamanaka?" Sasuke practically demanded. He knew something was wrong when headstrong Ino brushed off something.

Ino's hands trembled on the counter, signifying her worry. She lifted a shaky arm to brush away a tear. She was about to answer, but was her voice came out shaky and inaudible.

Hyuuga Hinata, being a compassionate person, approached her so-called captor to comfort her. She understood the strong, sisterly bond Ino and Sakura shared, and how lost Ino would be feeling right now.

"Sakura's been kidnapped." Hanabi supplied for everyone.

"NANI? MY YOUTHFUL SAKURA-SAN, KIDNAPPED? IMPOSSIBLE!" Lee declared, not accepting the ill-fate of the cherry blossom.

"Lee, shut up!" Ino growled, slightly more composed than she was a moment ago. Intimidated, the green-clad combat specialist slinked into a seat. With sorry eyes, Ino brought out the medical kit and started tending to Lee's cut.

"How did it happen?" Sasuke asked, sitting on another table. His onyx eyes glaring at a random part of the wall, trying to compose himself at the news of his surrogate sister's disappearance.

"Fire Guards. Sakura accidentally got mixed up with them." Ino managed to say. "They, um, have her captive. Shikamaru was able to hide any public information on her, just in case they're doing some interrogating."

"Aah." Sasuke noted. His hands were folded over each other and his knuckles were tense as he summoned the strength to stay where he is. As the lone survivor of the Uchiha clan and a well-known rebel, he knew he couldn't simply expose himself in broad daylight where the Fire Guards could see him.

"Naruto, Kiba, Shino, Sai and Tenten are out looking for her now. Shikamaru and Chouji are in the Strategist's room." Ino continued to supply, wrapping up Lee's wound.

"Wait," Hanabi held up her hands in a paused position. "Did you say Fire Guard?" Ino absentmindedly nodded. "Hinata-neechan, do you realize what this means? Father is _looking_ for us!" She jumped up excitedly. "We must go to them!"

"Nani," Ino's head suddenly snapped up to watch Hanabi run out of the kitchen, Hinata being dragged along by the arm. "Wait, Hanabi!" She bolted out, soon to be followed by the Uchiha survivor.

Sasuke inwardly cursed as he ran through the echoing halls off their base. To his knowledge, no one has ever shown the Hyuuga sisters the exit of the base. But one stupid slip up he knew was caused by both him and Ino (because he didn't feel right pinning the blame on just her) gave them the perfect opportunity to escape.

No, wait. It wasn't his fault, or Ino's. It was Sakura's. That annoying girl just _had_ to get herself into trouble with Fire Guards. _Fire Guards_, really. Sasuke couldn't help but growl at her idiocy, but confided in her effortless grace at handling such situations. He could only hope that the Fire Guard wasn't too much for her to handle before Naruto and the others got there.

Oh Kami, Hanabi knew where the exit was.

He pumped more energy into his injure legs (just bruises, but STILL), attempting to outrun the lithe teenager. He had already passed Ino a few hallways ago, and she was having trouble keeping up. Nonetheless, they were still in full pursuit.

The last stretch before the exit came into view, Sasuke made one graceful motion (because, dammit, he was still a fucking UCHIHA) and was able to pounce and tackle Hanabi to the ground. Ino grabbed Hinata by the elbow and slammed her against the wall.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Ino shouted angrily. By the movement of her head though, it seemed that the question was more likely directed at the younger Hyuuga sister.

"That we could get out of this goddamned hell hole." Hanabi replied with equal fervor, voice slightly muffled due to her cheek being pushed against the gritty floor.

"Not a reason. There are dangers." Sasuke deadpanned, pushing his knee into Hanabi's lower back. With his arms, he pinned hers backwards, making her completely unable to move.

"Dangers for _you_!" Hanabi snapped. "Do you think I fucking care if you guys get in trouble? _I want to go home!_"

She wriggled out of Sasuke's hold with the help of the first rung of the exit ladder. She pulled herself up and shimmied up the ladder. Once she reached the top, she exerted all her strength to spin open the large wheel that served as a doorknob.

~O~

Shikamaru sat in his elevated chair, surrounded by his numerous computer screens. Chouji watched a few more in another corner of the room, his munching on potato chips the only sound aside from the constant beeping and clicking of keys in the room.

"Looks like Naruto and the others have Sakura-chan's tag already." Chouji informed the dark-haired man. "ETA to hotel, four minutes."

Shikamaru gave a distracted grunt to acknowledge the information. He was more concentrated on the monitor that displayed Hyuuga Hanabi's struggle to escape the compound. The pineapple head clicked a button and leaned into the microphone beside him.

"Hanabi, Hinata, do you want to leave?" Shikamaru's voice resounded over the compound.

Chouji whirled his head in surprise at his best friend's question. He got up from his chair and stood behind the other man as his plan unfolded.

"I said, do you want to leave?" Shikamaru repeated.

Hanabi seemed a little confused at first as she paused in her actions, as did Sasuke, a second away from pulling her down by her ankles. Looking around, she spotted the security camera and speaker.

"Yes." She answered simply.

"Do you think you have suffered enough?" Shikamaru asked.

Hanabi narrowed her eyes. "Of course, I've suffered enough! I want to go home!"

"Do you understand the pain of living in these conditions everyday?"

Ino visibly winced as she heard the anger rising in Shikamaru's voice. Usually a calm person, he doesn't snap like this. But she understood that at that moment, he was making a decision that could affect the whole rebellion as it is.

"Answer him!" Ino snapped at the younger girl, clearly at her mental limit as well.

Hanabi's face softened, but only slightly, as she nodded. Her sister followed in wake, but seemed less convinced.

Shikamaru released the microphone button and clicked yet another one. He then duly gave instructions to Shino, the most sedated of the rescue group, to somehow arrange for a trade with the Fire Guards.

He gave an aggravated sigh as he heard Naruto's violent reaction to not rescuing his Sakura-chan. With the coaxing of Tenten and Shino's reassuring summary of Shikamaru's instructions, his screaming died down, indicating the understanding of the blonde.

"Troublesome, but let's do it."

* * *

**A/n: I know the story seems a bit vague at this point, but when I (find time to) update, you'll find out how this all ties up. ;D **

**Reviews are appreciated! ****Until next time! **

**~Bella**


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